Man shot by Costa Mesa police in third officer-involved shooting since Jan. 31

An attempt by Costa Mesa Police Department officers to thwart a commercial robbery involving a suspect armed with a knife early Thursday resulted in an officer-involved shooting — the third such incident to be reported by the department in 40 days.

A male suspect was reportedly receiving medical treatment at an undisclosed location Thursday, according to a release issued by the department hours after the incident occurred.

Police say the man, whose identity is not being released at this time, entered a business on the 2200 block of Fairview Road sometime before 4:45 a.m. and was allegedly assaulting a cashier with a knife when officers arrived on scene.

Exactly how many officers may have discharged their weapons, or how many shots were fired at the suspect, was not being reported by officials later Thursday morning.

Both the victim and the suspect were treated for their injuries by officers and members of Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue and then transported to nearby hospitals, the release stated. The victim had sustained stab wounds and was reported in stable condition. The department confirmed Thursday afternoon the suspect was expected to survive.

No other parties were involved, and no officers were reported injured during the incident. A knife was recovered from the scene, according to the release.

This is the third officer-involved shooting reported by the Costa Mesa Police Department since Jan. 31, when at least one officer fired on a man who allegedly brandished a knife and charged at officers when they attempted to interview him.

That suspect had been the subject of a call made to CMPD at 5:10 a.m. regarding an individual causing some kind of trouble near a residence on the 600 block of Baker Street. The shooting occurred nearby, at a location on Enterprise Street, police reported at the time of the incident.

Another officer-involved shooting took place Feb. 19, after officers on patrol made contact with three people parked in a vehicle on the 1500 block of South Coast Drive at around 10:30 a.m.

Officers removed two passengers from the vehicle and detained them. While they attempted to communicate with the driver, he reportedly drove in reverse and struck one of the passengers outside the vehicle.

The suspect failed to respond to officers’ commands for him to stop the vehicle, resulting in the shooting, police officials reported in a release later that day.

No officers were injured during the incident, but the suspect and passenger who’d been hit were hospitalized. The driver was pronounced dead at the hospital, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Bryan Wadkins told the Daily Pilot at the time of the occurrence.

The Orange County district attorney’s office is currently investigating the Fairview Road incident. On Thursday afternoon, spokeswoman Kimberly Edds confirmed her office was reviewing four CMPD officer-involved shootings, including the three that have occurred this year.

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